Moistening devices are known that include an absorbent body of material which can be touched by the fingers to coat the fingers with moisture. In the past, various types of moisteners have been disclosed which permit wetting of fingers to facilitate handling of money or separation of sheets of paper.
During a sporting event such as football, a quarterback may lick his fingers to better grip the ball. Typically, a game environment is unsanitary and licking fingers may be considered to be unpleasant. It is also common practice among railroad employees and others in similar employment to lick their fingers while handling tickets, transfers, currency and the like. This manner of moistening the fingers is extremely objectionable for sanitary reasons.
The difficulty of opening plastic bags, particularly grocery store plastic bags for produce, has been well known. The problem is usually that the fingers are too dry to allow for sufficient friction between the fingers and the plastic bag opening. The problem has been reduced in the past by the practice of licking one's fingers to create the friction needed to open the plastic bag. This practice is far from ideal. A study by Dr. Charles P. Gerba of eighty-five (85) shopping carts found that fifty percent (50%) carried Escherichia coli, while seventy-two percent (72%) contained coliform bacteria and that the number of fecal bacteria found on the shopping carts was enough to cause illness if ingested. Thus, the practice of licking one's fingers is allowing the spread of germs from the fingers to the mouth. There obviously exists a need for a more sanitary method to moisten fingers.
Liquid alcohol-based hand sanitizers are well known as a preferred way to prevent the spread of bacteria and kill germs. These hand sanitizers work by destroying the outer protein layer of viruses and bacteria, effectively rendering the pathogens ineffective and when used correctly, hand sanitizers kill ninety-nice percent (99.9%) of germs within thirty seconds (30 s.) after application.
Various attempts have been made to solve problems found in fingertip moistener art. Among these are found in: U.S. Pat. and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 939,098 to Potter; U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,555 to Aresene, et al.; and 2007/0234950 to Watts. These prior art references are representative of fingertip moisteners.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the invention as claimed. Thus, a need exists for a reliable fingertip moistening pad for opening grocery bags or separation of currency or sheets of paper, and to avoid the above-mentioned problems.